And if only one thing had happened differently...

Yesterday one of my very good friends was married in the LDS Draper Temple. I missed it. I meant to go, which is why I stayed in town for Memorial Day weekend, but I was 10 minutes late. Why? Lots of reasons.

To better explain it, here is a scene from The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.

So why was I late? I would have been on time if...

• I woke up at 8 am as planned instead of 9 am
• I hadn't eaten breakfast
• I had driven up to Logan faster to check out a car I wanted to buy
• Jiffy Lube wasn't so backed up with customers
• I didn't have to stop for gas
• I had left Logan 10 minutes earlier
• The slow people on the highway going to Salt Lake weren't on the road

There are millions of small reasons why I didn't make it. But as the video said (if you watched it), "But life being what it is, a series of intersecting lives and incidents, out of every one's control...".

All those little things led to a singular event that changed the course of a day. The whole idea of what Brad Pitt and I are trying to explain is called Chaos Theory. Look it up. It's interesting. Basically it is the idea of one or many small actions that change the end result in a larger way. In the video, the fact that the lady forgot her coat, was a little later than usual, go into that specific taxi, and the man who overslept, the girl who forgot to wrap the package, and the delivery truck getting in the way, the friend's shoelace broke, and that the driver was temporarily distracted all led to Daisy getting hit by the taxi and having her leg crushed, and ending her career as a professional ballet dancer (sorry if I ruined the movie for anybody).

It usually isn't that dramatic though. My example resulted in me missing the wedding of a good friend. Nobody died, nobody got hurt (well, maybe some feelings were hurt, but all is forgiven). But it got me thinking, the little things we do in our lives and the significance it has in them. I can stay up all night playing the "What if" game and think of the endless possibilities of what could have been. I'd rather get some rest though.

But what is the purpose of all of it? Is it God's hand in our lives directing us in a way because there simply is no other way? Or is it simply coincidence? I believe personally it is a mixture of the two. God does have an influence in our lives, and will direct us often. But equally as much many of the decisions we make or the events that occur around us, especially those beyond our own control, are just coincidence. There is no reason behind it. When everyone seems to click though, that's when it's interesting.

And if only had thing had happened differently, I would have made the wedding and would probably never had thought about writing this post . Funny how things work out sometimes.

Vielen Dank

Hey, you two Germans out there. Thanks for visiting my blog!

I haven't told many people about it, so I really have no idea how you found about it. Unless one of my friends told you. And for the 33 Americans who have read this one as well, thanks to you too! I probably account for about 25 of the visits personally. I'm not making this up, look:

My only hope for this is that the whole world will be reading this blog. Eventually. But I have some good ideas for new posts/what I want this blog to be. Let's see how it turns out. I should also try harder at being an avid blogger.

So I Guess I'm a Blogger Now

Well, I have resisted long enough. It seems like everybody has their own blog, and I find myself spending more of my personal time reading about the interesting (mostly uninteresting) lives of others. So why try to avoid the inevitable and throw myself into the mix?

So let's start with an introduction. My name is Kevin, and below is an attempt to list 100 things you may or may not know about me. Mind you, this isn't in any particular order. It's more of a stream of consciousness, in list form. OK, here goes. Right here:

1. I am 5'11''.
2. I wish I were 6'. So badly.
3. I weight roughly 165 pounds (160 on a good day).
4. Apparently I have really big big toes. People comment/ make fun of it often.
5. I hate those stupid magazine subscriptions forms in magazines.
6. I hate sprinting.
7. Jack's Mannequin is the only CD I have deleted off my iTunes. And I have a lot of crap. (I don't know, his songs just annoyed me to the point where I had to delete it. No offense.)
8. Sometime I am uncomfortable around homeless people.
9. I haven't had a car for almost three years. No DUIs or anything like that, just no car.
10. I can snap my fingers two different ways.
11. I have never broken a bone. Come close though.
12. I don't speak Japanese despite living there eleven years.
13. The two movies I can recall crying to are Marley & Me and White Squall (I was younger when I saw White Squall, so I was probably in tune more with my emotions, so it doesn't really count. Marley & Me, however, can possibly be the saddest movie in existence.)
14. I miss my dog Drew (aka Drewbear) everyday.
15. I have the best nephew in the world. Soon the best two.
16. I make my bed everyday.
17. I hate it when people say "like", like every two seconds.
18. It also bugs me when people confuse words while typing, such as misplacing "there" and "their". Come on guys, it's elementary.
19. I can't grow much facial hair.
20. I like pants.
21. I believe ice cream is a staple food.
22. I don't like mushrooms.
23. Mexican food is quite possibly the best food in the world. Then it's a tie for nearly everything else. (America perfected the Italian pizza, so the Italians do have a slight edge over every other major food country.)
24. My hair gets curly the longer it gets.
25. I want to run a marathon. PROBABLY won't happen, but I can still dream.
26. Speaking of dreams, I LOVE SLEEP.
27. I used to call my mom "Honey" as a small child because my dad would. Please let me know if you ever hear anything as adorable as that. I would like to know.
28. I am wondering if I am ever going to come up with a 100 things.
29. I have been bungee jumping. Twice.
30. I have also been skydiving. Bungee jumping was scarier.
31. I have only been pulled over once in my life. Let's keep the record going.
32. I love Barcelona.
33. And Hong Kong.
34. I try to be polite to people I don't know. I can only hope the same in return.
35. I have eaten a starfish.
36. And sheep gonads (just trying to keep it PG here guys).
37. I will do almost anything on a dare.
38. I own six pairs of shoes. If you were wondering, they are: church shoes, sneakers (Nike and Puma), Sperries, flip-flops and running shoes. That's it.
39. Snowboarding is one of my favorite activities.
40. Speaking of which, I want to go heli-boarding.
41. I have never been wake-boarding.
42. I don't like snakes.
43. Or spiders. Snakes are worse though.
44. I don't get scared in movies.
45. Dumb & Dumber will never be beaten as the funniest movie. It is like the Michael Jordan of comedies. It just won't happen. (Don't stop trying though Hollywood!)
46. I feel like I should recycle, but it's just too much work.
47. I have never been to the east coast. Not even at an airport (as far as I know). Florida and Georgia don't count (that's called the South ladies and gentlemen.)
48. I write in all caps in text messages to emphasize, since there are no italics in texts. Lame.
49. I will never get sick of Joe Dassin's Les Champs-Elysées. Cheers me up every time I hear it.
50. I don't get sad often. I am usually a happy guy. Except when I run out of ice cream.
51. I like riding motorcycles.
52. I know what bespoke means. (It's a good word, look it up.)
53. I once filled up a diesel car with normal fuel. Whoops.
54. I own a bike that doesn't work. I don't lock it up, so it's yours if you want it.
55. I have $60 in my wallet.
56. Amazon.com changed my life.
57. I want to be on one of those big-screens at a professional game (preferably at a Bronco's game).
58. My black name is Quevyn. You say it exactly as it sounds.
59. I'm not big fan of cake.
60. I came up with this idea in the shower.
61. I am not a never-nude.
62. I have been in a commercial. Check it out here.
63. I have never seen the sitting U.S. president in person.
64. I did NOT watch the royal wedding. But I saw the highlights. It looked lovely.
65. I like This American Life.
66. I don't wear a helmet snowboarding. I should.
67. I own a bowling ball. With shoes too (didn't count those in my shoe count on #38).
68. I don't like sleeping in my contacts.
69. I have never rock-climbed on a real rock before.
70. I don't like cake. If it's my birthday, you may make me a pie. Or cheesecake (which isn't really a cake anyway.)
71. I realized this is taking way longer than I had originally thought.
72. I miss playing with Legos.
73. I have an awesome girlfriend. This probably should have been number 1. Let's just pretend it is.
74. I have never been to Africa.
75. I feel bad for Delaware, because people always forget about it.
76. I am mad at Robert for making fun of this list.
77. I am slightly embarrassed for having a blog. But also mostly excited.
78. I think webdings is an annoying and useless font.
79. I don't ever want to own a cat.
80. I swallowed my tooth once eating a Subway sandwich.
81. I had Budweiser shoes as a kid. Man I loved those shoes. Thanks mom for throwing them away. Not.
82. I think Superman is a kind of cheap superhero. I mean, he can do everything. What's so super about that?
83. I don't read comic books. Never have, and don't really plan on starting ever. No offense Matt/Robert.
84. My left eye prescription is -4.50.
85. My right eye is worse, at -5.50.
86. I've never had braces.
87. I have a patch of black hair on the back of my head.
88. I enjoy flying kites.
89. I never won the pinewood derby. (Although I did win best-looking car one year.)
90. I don't remember anything I learned in Bio 100.
91. I don't play the guitar.
92. I don't like wet towels.
93. I saw Mark Zuckerburg in real-life.
94. I didn't think The Social Network was that good. It was good, but not that good.
95. I never want to have to saw my right arm off because it got stuck underneath a rock.
96. I have flown a glider plane before.
97. Have thrown up once on an airplane.
98. I love roller coasters.
99. I don't want to own a green car.
100. I like double-stuffed oreos.

Oh man I could go on forever. That's it for now. I'll come up with another 100 later.